Interview Summary

Yesterday, February 16th, 2010, I was given access to the Intermediate Accounting III/Advanced Accounting professor, Dr. Randall Rentfro. The interview took place in his faculty office on the fifth floor of the De Santis building. The interview started at 2:30 and took about half an hour. I brought my laptop with the questions I conducted prior to the interview and a voice recorder so that I can recall exactly how he answered the questions.

Dr. Rentfro also serves as an administrator here at Nova. He is currently working towards getting the accounting program to be accredited by one of the highest ranked and respected accreditations for accounting schools known as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Being that this was the first time I conducted an interview, I was very nervous. When I played back my voice recorded notes I can hear the shyness in my voice. This was quite ironic being that the interviewee is usually the one who is nervous. Aside from that the interview had a very positive outcome. I learned that the main characteristics that you need to be successful as an accountant are the minor characteristics that I overlooked about myself. Rentfro stressed that one must have strong communication, analytical, and leadership skills. That being said I now officially understand that accounting is the best field that can appreciate my personal characteristics.

AACSB. "Accreditation." Retrieved on February 18, 2010 from http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation

NYSSCPA. "Accounting Accreditation". Retrieved on February 18, 2010 from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2007/807/essentials/p69.htm

Fourth Observation!!

Today I sat in a Federal Taxation class. The class takes place on Thursday nights in the Carl De Santis Building from 6-7:55p.m. Throughout this course, students learn how to deal report taxes. The course is taught by Dr. Michael Hoffman. This week Dr. Hoffman is discussing what is included in gross income. Gross income is the amount of income a taxpayer receives in the fiscal year.

This course only has one prerequisite, which is Intermediate Accounting I. However, the majority of the students in Intermediate I are juniors so this tax class is filled with mostly senior and junior accounting majors. The class has about 20 students. One interesting thing about this class that I noticed was the lack of discussion. Throughout the hour that I sat in there was maybe 2 or 3 questions. Either everyone in the class understood the class perfectly or they are all just shy. Another behavior I noticed was the note taking utensils. Usually students in upper level accounting courses strictly use binders and notebooks for notes but there were a few students in this class who were using their laptops to take notes.

I found this class to be rather boring compared to the previous class I observed (intermediate accounting II). After the first half hour I had to force myself to keep paying attention. The professor also does not give a break within the two hours which I found quite extreme considering the difficulty of the material.

Third Observation!!

Today I was given the opportunity to sit in Dr. Judith Harris's class. The class is taking place in the second floor of the Carl De Santis Building room 2071. It is 1 pm so students are usually in their most efficient time of the day considering that they just had lunch. Dr. Harris is currently lecturing in her Intermediate Accounting II class. The objective of the course is to further express the theory of financial accounting. Today Dr. Harris is discussing bonds and how to treat them. During the lecture, she will often make comical remarks to lighten the tension of the course. They are often quite humorous and would make me chuckle.

Dr. Harris is middle aged, short in stature, and a former Boston, Massachusetts's citizen. It is quite obvious that she is very enthusiastic about accounting. She also understand the the material can be challenging so she often lectures at a slow but effective pace. She often mentions what students should know and what really isn't important. The students in the classroom seemed very attentive and were strictly focused on what she was discussing. Anyone who knows her personally or has had her for a class will confirm that she truly cares for her students. Aside from the classroom, Dr Harris volunteers a portion of her free time to the accounting club. She has been the club advisor for thirteen years now! As the advisor, she attends all meetings, provides assistance to members, and makes suggestions towards proposals made by executive board officers.

Professors such as Dr. Harris is what makes Nova so great to be apart of. Hope you all enjoyed reading and stay tuned!